Although Microsoft spokespeople has already confirmed the legitimacy of the tagline shortly after it was leaked, it hasn’t made much of an appearance since. Speaking of which, even Microsoft’s current tagline “your potential, our passion” has faded from the public eyes over the years. The last time I recall it appeared anywhere was in the series of “We see” TV ads Microsoft aired years ago.

With the new year quickly approaching, I hope we’ll see much more of the tagline if not a broader brand refresh in 2011.

P.S. The font of the new tagline doesn’t seem to use Segoe but is Helvetica Franklin Gothic like the rest of the Microsoft logo itself.

Update:Twitter user @JaycobC also notes that the new Microsoft logo is actually less slanted than the current one. With some CSI-like forensics analysis, I can confirm this is indeed the case.

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61 insightful thoughts

Microsoft should really be “what’s next”, not just create a tagline. Tagline is too bureaucratic, and doesn’t reflect real feelings inside the company IMHO.

Still, to have something “real” instead of that tagline, Microsoft needs to have an exceptionally great technical visionary leader. Like Bill Gates, or Sergey Brin, or Larry Page – a someone who will set up a high-level mission, and will build a company, its organization around that mission; will build up an organization around a shared dream.

Eventually, not around money but around dream. Of course there will be money inside, but the big dream will attract great people. No big dream – no great people – no great results.

And Steve might come off a little nutty but he is pretty much the industry’s smartest company leader. Keep in mind that since the departure of Bill, he has brought to the company Windows 7, Xbox, Bing, Zune and Windows Phone 7, all of which will be (or are already) billion dollar businesses in their own right.

First of all this is not a Bill Gates flame but if you knew the real history of Microsoft you would know that Bill’s only real genius moment was forcing PC manufactures to pay a license to MS whether they sold the box with MS DOS or not. Bill’s dad was the first genius of MS for telling Bill to license DOS to IBM and not sell it. After that you’d have to put an unheralded Jon Shirley on that list an early COO who often told Bill to shutup and leave meetings because Bill was disruptive and didn’t trust anyone who wasn’t a programmer.

Gates really is the accidental billionaire and no visionary. I remember Jobs had once said that the problem with Bill Gates was that he had no taste. I think that showed in Windows right through to Vista. Windows Mobile 7 is quite attractive. Bill would never have come up with that.

I mentioned nothing about Bill. I do agree with you to some extent that Bill accidentally became as rich as he is. But Bill is a visionary today as a philanthropist, for sure. The stuff he is doing is amazing. Bill never needed taste. He just employed people who do have it.

Microsoft adopted the so-called “Pac-Man Logo”, designed by Scott Baker, in 1987. Baker stated “The new logo, in Helvetica italic typeface, has a slash between the o and s to emphasize the “soft” part of the name and convey motion and speed.”

The tag-line doesn’t work for me. My mind thinks “next what?”, and since it’s advertising from a massive corporation I can’t help but put a cynical spin on it.

I realise they mean “next big thing” but I can’t stop thinking of it in the context of “who’s next?” (after the person saying it beat-up the first guy and wants to know who wants some more) or “you’re all f***ing next!” (from Jay & Silent Bob :)). “Next victim”, “next into the fire”, “next under the steamroller”…

Simply being next does not imply something good is about to happen to you.

don’t get it … why don’t they just say Microsoft. Seriously dead simple. Use your company name. Then communicate what your stand for via your actions.

You don’t read McDonalds… burgers for the masses? No. You read McDonalds… no questions asked. You know what you get… consistent burgers that are not awesome but fill your up when you don’t have another option for food.

So many haters here.. I personally think that it’s a great tagline; straight, to the point, and ambitious. It reinforces the message that Microsoft is providing the tools for people to innovate for the future.

Yikes! Could this be as bad as “Chevy Runs Deep” or “Lean Forward?” At least “Be What’s Next” is much more dynamic, even though it doesn’t apply in the least to Microsoft’s spotty record as an innovator! See more: http://wp.me/pIfvI-su

Being what’s next is working for me big time because it implies the company is deciding to strategically change its tactics.

Following competition into a market 2-3 years afterwards combined with their infamous not getting it right until version 3.0 resulting in an aggregate six year product design life cycle is no longer sustainable.

Being what’s next means deciding to take innovate and step into the spotlight as the rock stars of software design and development that the company and all of its people are all about.

Not be be perceived as the fanboy, Microsoft just ran off Ray Ozzie who was and is a guy who has always been about what’s next and the company remains controlled by Steve Ballmer, a guy everybody knows is all about what used to be; that being Ballmer’s highest and best use being the enterprise market strategies and tactics which do not work with contemporary consumer markets which require being what’s next.